On Restaurants | Tony's keeps Italian fresh for 30 years

Tuesday

Oct 16, 2012 at 12:01 AMOct 16, 2012 at 10:33 AM

In 1982, when Olivia Newton-John ruled the music charts and leg warmers were a hot fashion trend, an Italian restaurant opened quietly at Beck and S. High streets. The 1980s are gone, but Tony's Italian Ristorante, 16 W. Beck St., is still going strong, celebrating 30 years of moderately priced Italian fine dining.

Denise Trowbridge, For The Columbus Dispatch

In 1982, when Olivia Newton-John ruled the music charts and leg warmers were a hot fashion trend, an Italian restaurant opened quietly at Beck and S. High streets.

“I opened with only $10,000, and, 30 years later, we’re still kicking it against all of the competition,” said owner Tony Scartz.

What is now an open, light space with a rustic Italian feel was a dark, windowless French restaurant when Scartz took over.

“The place was so dark you couldn’t see the people sitting next to you,” he said. “When you were inside, you couldn’t tell if it was noon or midnight.”

Three years after opening the restaurant, Scartz bought the building and began its transformation.

“I started the process of lightening it up and making it what I envisioned,” he said. “I put in windows and added a party room,” a room that cemented Tony’s as a political hot spot, hosting fundraisers and meetings for candidates on both sides of the aisle.

Tony’s is still a gathering place for a veritable who’s who of Ohio politics and has been from the very beginning.

“My dad had a relationship with Dick Celeste. When he was running for governor, I was just opening the restaurant,” Scartz said. His father, Carl, owned the Knotty Pine near Grandview Heights; Scartz cut his teeth there and in bars and nightclubs near Ohio State University before opening Tony’s .

“My dad ran into (Celeste) at an event and asked him to support my new restaurant, and he did. It’s turned into a place where both sides come to have drinks, eat and attend fundraisers,” he said. “If you’re in politics in Ohio, you’ve probably been through my front door more than once."

Times were not always rosy, though.

About 15 years ago, the Brewery District was suddenly flooded with new restaurants — such as Pete’s Grill and Steak House, Nunzio’s, Dom’s Front Street Fish Market and Hagen’s Ale & Tee — that added about “1,100 new restaurant seats within a mile of my back door,” Scartz said.

“When they opened, the inside of my restaurant looked like Wyoming — nothing but wide-open space. It was hard to come to work and keep my employees, but I knew it would be OK. It was just a matter of time.”

In some ways, the neighborhood also has presented a challenge.

Tony’s is in the Brewery District, which only recently is undergoing a revitalization, with the addition of Shadowbox Live, new apartment and condo developments, and the Via Vecchia Winery.

“We haven’t been as lucky as the Short North,” Scartz said. “We don’t have the convention center and hotels, but things are picking up.”

Tony’s survived and is still growing and changing. Scartz is at the tail end of a two-year renovation that has turned the second floor into a party room and soon-to-be cocktail lounge that seats up to 80 people.

“The idea of the lounge is to draw younger clientele, to keep fresh people coming in, and keep the restaurant a nice blend of business between all age groups.”

Staying fresh is one secret to 30 years in the restaurant industry. Another is good food and good employees, such as bartender Chuck Vyzral, who has worked there for about 28 years, and chef Tony Stanley, who has been there for about 20 years.

It also takes elbow grease, determination and good money sense.

“You have to show up to work every day,” said Scartz, who is at the restaurant every day from open to close.

“You also have to be fiscally responsible. Everything we’ve done has been a pay-as-you-go process. We never took out a big line of credit. We don’t spend more than we make, and we don’t get cocky.”

Dinner entrees range from about $13 to $23 and include pan-fried trout Milanese, veal and prosciutto capellini, and classics such as veal or chicken parmigiana.

Tony’s serves lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and dinner from 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 to10:30 p.m. on Friday, and 5 to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday.